Restoring the House

The fine decoration of the Saloon dates to around 1740, and includes delicate and elaborate stucco work of very high quality. Pictured above, the damage to this beautiful room includes the removal of the fireplace, doorcases and other decorative work above the lost mirrors between the windows of the east wall.

Poltimore Saloon has attracted a number of supporters and we have been awarded a number of grants to help us to bring this room back to use. With the help of a legacy, with grants from the Country Houses Foundation, the Wolfson Trust, the Georgian Group and Exeter Historic Buildings Trust, we will, once the work to stabilise the roof and the East range gets under way, be abe to see the Saloon back to use. We still need more funds to complete this project but the planning stage is now well under way.

A grant from English Heritage, an invaluable award of £500,000 for the development of the project to repair and restore Poltimore House, is focused on the repair of the historic roofs of the north and east ranges. Our generous supporters – many individuals and organisations – have contributed to the Give-a-Slate campaign which continues to raise much-needed funds for this huge roof. For more information on fundraising, and how you can help, click here.

The complete project to restore the House will cost an estimated £5.5million. This programme of work needs to be done to bring the building back into order, and between £8 million and £9 million will be required to make sure that the House is fit for its new purpose.

This first stage of essential repair will be followed by a restoration of the Saloon, including its fine stucco interior, and opening up its central window to allow access to the grounds.